The best sounding FM Tuner is.....

I've owned alot of tuners since I created this thread almost 7 years ago. It's kind of amazing that we audiophiles have such a passion for the analog gear of yester-year. After trying Fanfare, Magnum, vintage Yamaha, etc. I finally settled on a Kenwood 600T in my main system and a Kenwood KT-8300 for my office system. I sent both of them to ComponentsPlus USA to have the premium upgrades performed. I really didn't realize just how much improvement the mods would render. I probably now listen to the tuners more than any other component. The only others I want to try is a Marantz 10B, an Accuphase 109 and maybe the megabuck top of the line Magnum. Thanks everyone for your input! Happy listening......

I place a vote for the Linn Kremlin.

I have had the pleasure of owning several tuners over the past 50 years, most of which were McIntosh. Loved them all. I don't think you can find a bad tuner in their lineup. Started with a MR-71, then an MR-74 and now own a MR-85.

The inner detail of the MR-85 is outstanding. Run the tuner directly into my tube amplifier which has a volume control. Will be purchasing a C220 preamp in the next near future to go with the MR-85; like the remote capabilities of the tuner to be active. The MR-85 is superior in my humble opinion than the Magnum Dynalab tuners, however, the triode series from the 106 up are perhaps the best sounding tuners on the market. Chose the MR-85 because is sounds so good, is user friendly and loaded with features that will enhanse any fine audio system. Truly an outstanding product at a reasonable price. If you have good FM in your area, get an MR-85.

jaguar, i suggest you try a marantz 20 or 20b; most tuna aficionados say it's better than the 10b, that the 20/20b is marantz's best. (i own a completely refurb'd 19 receiver, which has the 20b tuna inside it, & it *is* an excellent sounding tuna.) based upon my experience w/the lower-level m-d tunas, & upon the comments of others re: the md-108, i would recommend not bothering w/the ~$9k md109. i know you can exceed the sonic performance of the md108 with literally dozens of $200-$1k vintage tunas. also, i had an accuphase t109 modded by joseph chow. while certainly excellent, it is not worth the money, imo, & i dint miss it when i sold it. i have a coupla others that are as good, if slightly different in presentation. now, the accuphase t1000 is one i would like to try - from reports of others, it is head & shoulders above anything they have ever heard, including the big guns like the kenwood l-02t, sansui tu-x1, etc...

joey, i have never heard a kremlin in my own rig, mebbe some day. :>)

butch, i must heartily disagree w/your assessment of the mac tunas. easily the most over-hyped, underperforming tunas around, imo. well, at least as much as the m-d tunas! ;~)

most tuna addicts will tell you the absolute best sounding s/s mac tunas are the mr74 & the mr77. even richard modafferi will tell you that a properly set up 77 is better sonically than even the modafferi-modded 78. well, i owned a refurb'd/aligned mr77 & it was one of only two tunas i have auditioned in my rig over the past several years that i would not be happy listening to as my only tuna. (the other was a stock mint kenwood kt8300.) and, i have owned ~80 tunas.

while i have never heard the mr85, i trust most other comments about them, from those who have heard it, which are a bit different than yours. i also trust ron cornelius, mcintosh’s present main product mgr, who readily admits that the current mr85 doesn't compare to the older mac tuna offerings. a search for "mr85" on the yahoo fmtuner forum comes up w/47 posts, for warying comments about this & other mac tunas.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FMtuners/msearch?query=mr85&submit=Search&charset=UTF-8

and, if you think i am a mac basher, well, all i can say is that i really *do* like my stephen sank modded mr65b, tho it's still not my best sounding tuna. :>)

ymmv,

doug s.

I own a Marantz 2110. I live in an apartment and can't hook up a decent antenna. I'm using an old car antenna and the reception is great. I don't know what this means, if anything.